Pleasant Intrusion
by pleasesayitsnotso
Summary: One Shot: Post CATWS- Steve returns from his search to find the Winter Soldier, and on entering his bedroom he finds his bed already occupied, and despite initial reactions it's not all that unpleasant.


_"You can never love people as much as you miss them."  
>― John Green<em>

* * *

><p>Steve finally arrived at his apartment, after nine months scouring the world in search of the Winter Soldier Steve had finally called time, concluding with the information that he and Sam had garnered that any further searching would result in more harm than good. The remnants of the man who was once his best friend would only be found when he wanted to be, although that had not meant they hadn't had some interaction with him, by the Winter Soldier's allowance of course, permitting him to at least have a brief exchange and procure some understanding. Steve however saw how tired Sam was, and also remembered how he had a family to come home to, something that Steve could not keep his friend from any longer, with a guilt free conscience.<p>

It was the early hours of the morning and opening the front door Steve looked upon the shadowy remnants of the place that for the moment classified as 'home'. The moon light cast an eerie white glow over the contents of his living room, and the silence that befell it was heavy and deafening, it reeked of emptiness and as Steve walked inside his footsteps echoed, the dismal call of solitude. Placing his duffel bag on the floor, a soft sigh of discontent escaped the soldier's lips before he softly padded towards his bedroom, in hope of a dreamless and satisfying night's sleep. However on entering his room Steve was paralysed with astonishment as the soft warm glow of the bedside lamp highlighted a female figure in his bed. She lay on her front with an arm draped over a pillow she had brought to her side; her face was buried snugly into said pillow, although with one glance at the curly crimson locks that cascaded over her shoulders he knew who it was. After a moment of astounded disbelief Steve managed to find his voice, it sounded stark and foreign against the dense silence,

"Natasha?" In response Natasha squirmed underneath the sheets, pressing her face further into the pillow and allowing an aggravated and muffled moan to rumble from her lips, before Steve attempted a second time to get a clearer response,

"What are you doing here?" Finally conceding that Steve wasn't going to halt his interruption of her slumber until she gave him an adequate response, she languidly turned towards him, her eyes remained closed however her features were scrunched up in annoyance. Her reply was raspy and exuded exasperation,

"Really?... you wake me up to ask that!" At that Steve let out a half hearted chuckle, one that was through gritted teeth and had a bitter edge, as he tried to suppress his displeasure at her dispelling his intrigue and concern about her presence. His reply was equally vexed, although his management on suppressing his irritation lapsed as he forcefully stated,

"I haven't heard from you for nine months!" Natasha didn't respond to Steve's indignation, as she merely continued to try and show some semblance of awakening, despite her strong desire to just turn back over and sleep. The past nine months had been anything but easy for her either and it was incredibly gratifying to be asleep in a comfortable bed, with the knowledge that she was relatively safe, and despite her feelings right now there was some comfort in bickering with Steve again. Rubbing her eyes with her knuckles in an attempt to dispel the haze of sleep that seemed to blur her vision, she quipped back,

"Says the man who was frozen for 70 years then decided to turn up." At that Steve concluded that he was not to get any sense out of the sleepy spy, and so in accordance with another sigh of irritation he turned to his chest of draws and pulled out a clean t-shirt and boxers to sleep in as he replied, finally giving in to her jibe,

"Low blow." Making his way towards the en-suite bathroom, Natasha informed through the straining contortions of a yawn,

"When I've been rudely awaken my humour takes no prisoners Rogers." It was about now that the pleasant realisation that Natasha was back hit the soldier, as his anger at her being absent for so long disintegrated revealing the rare joy of being reunited with the cheeky red head. A chuckle leaked from Steve's lips travelling to Natasha's ears and provoking a rare soft smile to break out across her face, as she rolled back over and snuggled into the sheets.

Exiting the bathroom Steve noted how Natasha had returned to her comfortable position, her brazen locks looked so silky in the light he felt the unmitigated urge to comb his fingers through them. Without knowing it Steve's gaze soon melted into one of adoration as he observed the beautiful spy sleeping, before he gently made his way to the bedside lamp, turning it off he started to creep towards the living room intent on sleeping on the couch. However his journey was cut short when a mumbled command came from the mop of scarlet tresses,

"Come to bed you prude." With a gentle chuckle and a reluctance to argue at this time of night, Steve slid into bed beside her, and revelled in the feel of the soft clean sheets against his skin in addition to the welcoming warmth that radiated from the woman beside him. Closing his eyes he focused on the soft breathes of the exquisite being next to him, and after a few moments he felt his heart push painfully against the inside of his rib cage as if urging him to express the emotions that now surged within him. Not knowing if she was awake or asleep, before he knew it he softly uttered the words he had been meaning to say since he had beheld her in his bed,

"_**I missed you**_." Satisfied that he had finally expressed what he had wanted to say since he'd first felt the painful effects of her absence, he released a large breath he didn't even know he was holding, in relief at his admission. Unpredictably Natasha started to stir, and as a result Steve's heart rate started to soar as it beat hard against his ribcage in apprehension before he felt her shuffle towards him. Her fingers sought out his and threaded together in a moment of complete perfection, before she nuzzled her head into his chest and allowed herself to indulge in the feel of his strong body against hers. In this simple show of affection, she expressed all that she had felt when Steve had hushed the words she had unexpectedly wanted to hear, with the feel of his hand in hers she illustrated that she too had missed him in a manner that both terrified and comforted the hardened spy. **As they both slipped into a deep sleep, comforted by the knowledge that both of them yearned for each other as much as the other, they indulged in a rare moment of peace and tranquillity, and a promise for a tomorrow where both would occupy each other's lives again. **


End file.
